Realizing
by misaki-chan-usui
Summary: It's been 4 years since Amu last saw Ikuto. Now he's back just to say hi, so Amu doesn't take him seriously. But during a festival, she gets this funny feeling, and Ikuto is the reason. My first fanfic. Amuto, please read and review! I'm a newb!T 4 safety
1. Causing Amu Some Trouble

**Oi! This is my very fist fanfic! Wit the help of all my other online buddies, I have finally been able to get the courage and write a story! Amuto is a old couple from Shugo Chara. I hope you enjoy this!**

Hinamori Amu was definitely not happy. She woke up late; her mother became angry at her for not eating _all _her breakfast, and she almost forgot some of her homework because Ami hid it from her.

She shouted out a goodbye to her mother and rushed out of the front door.

"What a way to spend a _Monday morning_. Who am I kidding? Nobody likes Mondays anyway…"

Amu continued to walk down the street toward her current school, Seiyo High, until Hotori Tadase ran to catch up with her.

"Tadase-kun! What are you doing here?" Amu said, facing Tadase.

He saw the angry expression she wore and looked away. "I just thought that walking with Amu would make her happy."

Amu was taken aback and she blushed. "Tadase-kun….I am s-sorry….."

_How could you feel that way to your Prince? You're not mad at him, so there is no reason to act like you are! _Amu told herself. She shook her head and glanced Tadase's way_. _

"Gomenasai, Tadase-kun. I wasn't mad at you. Oh, um, and it does make me happy that… You're walking with me." Amu said (more like muttered) reluctantly. Instantly, Tadase's face brightened up and he flashed a smile.

She let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the gray sky that lay above the two high school students.

"Hey, Tadase-kun, do you think it's going to rain?"

Both of them walked in an awkward silence until they finally reached their school. Amu felt raindrops land softly on her pink hair and was about to say something to Tadase when she saw a flash of dark blue behind a nearby bush. Of course, there's only one thing that would pop up in her mind. _Ikuto._

"T-Tadase-kun… I-I need to check the…. Flower beds! Oh, yes! How could I forget! Yaya-chan told me to check the flower beds!" Amu said, rather too quickly. Tadase only nodded and headed to the Royal Garden, where all the other Guardians are.

After Tadase was out of Amu's sight, she ran towards the bush that she thought Ikuto was hiding behind. But to her dismay, she saw nothing. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Ikuto, if you are going to try something perverted on me, forget it because I am on school grounds!" She declared, a little too loudly.

"Hinamori-san? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the Royal Garden where everyone else is?"

Amu whirled around to find Kairi, one of the Guardians, staring directly at her.

"A-ah…..Kairi-kun," Amu said, avoiding eye contact to think of an excuse to tell the freshman Guardian. "I was going to sweep the street, where all those leaves are…..You should head to the Royal Garden now; you probably don't want to miss what they are talking about, right Kairi-kun?" He studied Amu's face, hoping to figure out what was going on, but he failed because she had all these mixed feelings. Kairi let out his own sigh and started walking towards his destination.

Just when Amu thought he wouldn't turn around, Kairi turned his head quickly, just to find her looking into a bush.

"Hinamori-san, what _are _you doing?"

She had no choice but to make another excuse, or else he'd have to know. She mentally face palmed herself. While she was thinking, the atmosphere between her and Kairi became very awkward.

"Eh, Hinamori-san, if it is a personal matter, I do not wish for you to explain. Just make sure you do not overwork yourself by raking those leaves, because there will be a festival in a few hours. Remember that please. It will start at eleven 'o' clock in the morning."

She was speechless and did nothing but nod and smile at Kairi's reminder. After he disappeared into the trees that stood guard over the Royal Garden, she did an actual face palm. "Why am I so embarrassed to say that-"

"You're trying to find me?" Ikuto said, finishing Amu's question; which was suppose to only be heard by her. She turned around sharply and finally found what she was looking for. "Ikuto!"


	2. Found Ya

"Ikuto! Y-you nuisance! Getting me in all this trouble! What are you doing here anyway?" She hissed, glancing around her surroundings, to make sure that no one sees her without her "cool and spicy" mask on. The young man chuckled at the pink head. "You are the one who's getting yourself in trouble," He said, leaning in so that he was close to Amu's blushing face. "You told Kiddy King that you were going to look at the flower beds, and you told little spy something different. You are so smart, eh?" The younger girl looked away and immediately put her stubborn mask on. "Whatever. I'll do them both then. Did you find anything else wrong? I have answers."

Ikuto chuckled once again and ruffled Amu's hair. "Do whatever _you _like. We were just here to say hi." Yoru popped out from behind him.

"Of course, since it has been a while, nya!" Ikuto turned in the direction of the Royal Garden. "How old are you anyway? 13? 14? Gee, I don't know."

Amu crossed her arms and glared at the blue-haired kid she learned how to hate. "_Ikuto._ Do you honestly think a sophomore is still 13?" He slanted his looks at her and smirked. "In your case, you're a midget and you do look like a 13 year old. Weird though. You're a sophomore already? Man, I told you to grow up, but not _this _fast." He scanned her body in a perverted cat boy way. Amu caught him and slapped his arm. "Y-you pervert…." She muttered, while her blush began to crawl up her cheeks.

Ikuto's smirked disappeared as he squinted at the Royal Garden. He huffed and crossed his arms, as if he was a 4 year old who didn't get the toy he wanted.

"Ugh. Kiddy King is coming. What a nuisance." He faced Amu and leaned near her face once again. "I'll see my princess later, okay?" He whispered, holding her chin with his long, slender fingers.

In a flash, he was gone. But Amu didn't notice; she was still recovering from how close she became with Ikuto. She shook her head.

_I must look like a tomato… It's all Ikuto's fault….W-why do I always feel this way when he's with me? As if the lost puzzle piece of my heart is found and is placed in to complete it. _She said to herself. She gasped as she realized something. _Could I be…. Falling in love with him? _Her head drooped as she thought deeply about the situation she was in. _He's always coming and going…..It's been a long time since I've seen him too. That was when Tadase came along with us in the mini-amusement park. Around four years have passed already! If I was truly in love with him, I would have known that a LONG time ago! _Amu raised her head and laughed at herself for being so frantic. She was busy laughing so much that she didn't notice somebody approaching from behind her.

"Amu." A voice she didn't recognize said. She felt his breath on her neck and turned to stone. Then she heard a chuckle. She quickly turned around just to find…

"K-KUKAI! NEVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" Amu yelled.

Kukai, a former guardian, had to bend down and hold his sides to keep from rolling on the floor laughing. "G-gome….G-omena…" His laughter kept him from saying sorry correctly. Kukai "being Kukai" gave up and started rolling around, laughing at Amu's reaction to one of his "jokes". She pouted and crossed her arms, somewhat like how Ikuto did it.

"It wasn't _that _funny, Kukai-kun. You always do that anyway. Where's Tadase? Ikut-…." She stopped herself a little too late though. The junior had gone completely quiet, leaving an awkward atmosphere.

"Oi, you mean Ikuto, the blue haired kid, with cat ears?" Kukai asked. Amu looked away, while gently scratching the back of her head to appear as if she was caught. Well, actually, she _was._

"What about Ikuto-san?" Kukai asked, once again.

"Um….." Was all Amu said in reply. She kicked the dirt, making her shoes a little dusty. "Amu…."

"Amu-chan!' A cheerful voice interrupted. She let out sigh of relief and waved good-bye to Kukai.

"I'll explain another time, okay?" She whispered. Kukai nodded in return and put a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey, Tadase, I was only reminiscing the good time about my past, especially recent ones…" He said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Kukai-kun! Please don't tell!" Amu pleaded. She glanced at Tadase, who ws completely confused, because he didn't understand anything they were saying. "Uh, Amu-chan, we only need to collect trash, right? You watered the flowerbeds and raked the leaves out of the gate's way, right?" Tadase asked, with a sweet smile on his face. Amu gasped as she realized she didn't any of those two. "Tadase-kun…..Please excuse me!" Amu quickly bowed, for some reason, and ran much faster than a human being's average speed, towards the gates. "Where's the rake? Where's the RAKE?" She asked while looking around frantically. _This is what I'm talking about, Ikuto! This is your fault! _She finally spotted the rake and started raking the leaves viciously. IN less than five minutes, she was completely done, and she sped to the flowerbeds. As she watered them, she chanted a stupid song Yaya, one of the guardians, made up so the plants would grow faster. "Please grow up, to top, come on, don't you stop! Yay….." She mumbled. She watered the plants rather quickly, making a mental note to tell Yaya to check on the flowers if she watered them correctly. _Just to pretend that I took my time. _She said to herself with a sigh.


	3. Many events, and then Amu realizes it

The festival finally started, and Amu was already tired of it. It was hot and she was exhausted from setting up the whole place.

"Being the Joker of the Guardians is no joke at all." She muttered under her breath. _You know what? I'm just going to take a little nap right here…._

"Hinamori-san, what's wrong?" Kairi asked, catching her slump down under a big oak tree. "Ah, Kairi-kun….. Do you think I'm going to die?" The freshman became frantic upon hearing this and yelled at one of the festival helpers to get a cup of water immediately. He had never seen her act this way, and never thought she could say such things. The water finally came and Kairi tilted Amu's head so that he can pour the water into her mouth. After a few minutes of gagging and coughing, Amu's body accepted the liquid. She shook her head and her hand flew to her forehead. "Ah… What a horrible headache…." She looked around and came face-to-face with Kairi. She flinched and yelped. He started laughing at her behavior. "Hinamori-san, you get me worried sometimes." He got up and started walking away. Then he shouted out one more remark over his shoulder. "Oh, and bring a water bottle around. We don't want you to say that you're going to die, _again._"

While heading for the food stands, Amu wondered what her mischievous charas could possibly be doing. She had left them in her homeroom, trusting them not to goof around. Even if they have been with her for a long time, she still had doubts about trusting them.

She asked for a bottle of water, and of course, being the person who set the festival up, she received one for free. She monitored the event for a few minutes until she concluded that everything was going smoothly. She caught a few glimpses of her busy Guardian friends: Kairi selling ice cream, Yaya hosting the games and giving out stuff toys as the prizes, Nagihiko running around to demonstrate one of the many sports he still has left, Rima showing off by juggling seven bowling pins without showing any signs of effort, and her Prince, Tadase, helping out the food stands. The quiet school was transformed into a loud, cheerful place. Amu's mind suddenly focused on Tadase. _Tadase has always been my crush, but now it seems as if it is different….. As if, I like someone else. But who could it be? I don't like Kukai, Kairi, Nagihiko, or Ikuto. _She stopped abruptly at the thought of Ikuto. _Gee, I don't get that guy either. _Once again, she was in such deep thought that she didn't notice that she already bumped into someone.

"Ha? Agh! Gomenasai..." She said, looking up straight at Ikuto. "Eep! Ikuto! Don't just pop out of nowhere!" Ikuto rolled his eyes and smirked. "What are you talking about? You're the one who's ramming down everybody." Amu glanced around her environment and didn't see anybody she knew. "Why are you here, again?" She whispered harshly. Ikuto shrugged and faced her. "Just wasting my time. Why? Did you miss me?" Amu's heart starting beating faster as Ikuto leaned closer to her face. "Why…Why do always do this? You tease me, I just don't get it. I don't know whether to talk to you seriously or to return your joke back." She whispered, so quietly that she could barely even hear herself speak. But Ikuto heard every single word. He stood up straight again with a somewhat dark look on his face. "I came here to tell you I'm leaving this afternoon. It's been a great stay, but business is always calling, right?" Amu was shocked and couldn't find anything to say. "U-um, Ikuto, when will you come back?" She managed to squeak. He shrugged again and put his hands in his pocket. "Who knows? I've got a tour with Utau, and then I have my world tour. Maybe a few years. But it's not like anyone cares." Ikuto's last statement stabbed Amu's heart and she winced. Her heart had this unusual feeling, as if she was falling, but she knew someone was there to catch her. Both of them just stood there, either listening to the wind or watching the golden leaves fall from the trees that surrounded them. Ikuto turned to leave, and Amu's heart tugged. "Wait!" She yelled, holding her heart. She couldn't understand the feeling; was she suppose to feel hurt? Sad? Mad? Happy? _He'll be gone for many more years. When do you think you'll see him again, Amu? _At this thought, tears began streaming down her pink cheeks. "Ikuto, are you…Can you possibly be the….One?" She whispered, the wind carrying her words gently to Ikuto's ears. He was surprised, yes he was. Amu had never felt this way towards him. It has always been Kiddy King that, Kiddy King this, Kiddy King everything. But now, was Amu falling for him? Like the way he is for her? Amu ran towards him and hugged him tightly. "Ikuto-san, don't go…." He returned her hug and asked her why. She looked up at him as he took her chin in his hands. Ikuto enclosed the space between them with a soft kiss. Amu and Ikuto separated, but never stopped looking into each other's eyes. "Until next time, Amu-chan…." With that, Ikuto was gone. Amu held her heart once again, realizing that she had earned and had felt the feeling of love.


End file.
